A New Paradigm for Mental Health

On the steps of Downing Street, and in her first statement as Prime Minister, Theresa May said ‘If you suffer from mental health problems, there's not enough help to hand’. This echoed the NHS England Mental Health Taskforce’s report in February, the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, which set an agenda for improving and widening access to treatment and recognised the importance of prevention and early intervention in mental health services. But it remains to be seen whether David Cameron’s commitment of an extra £1bn by 2020 to deliver the recommendations of the Taskforce and to improve mental health services in the UK will be delivered. And even if it is, this will not in itself close the treatment gap.